State of the 2013 Building Market

21 February 2013, 4:14 pm

Now is the time when all of the excitement from the New Year begins to dissipate and we start to look again to the future. For many potential homeowners, this is also the time when they decide whether or not to move forward with their dreams of building a custom home. Upon reviewing the most recent NAHB Housing Starts Forecast, we are here to tell you that if you are planning to build within the next 24 months, now is the time to get ahead of the trends and initiate your log or timber frame home project.

Labor Demands on the Rise

According to the NAHB’s Housing Starts Forecast, consumer interests and housing starts are on the rise, but the availability of labor in the building industry is not progressing as rapidly. Over the last five years, the industry has seen a staggering loss of 1.5 million jobs, and the economic turnaround has only been able to add back 107,000 jobs. A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Establishment Survey says the addition of jobs to the industry has been slow since early 2012, and even now there are only 575,000 builders currently employed and working. If you are considering beginning your log home project, speak with your provider to better understand and prepare for an increase in market competition as more and more people begin to seek out builders to facilitate their own custom home construction.

Qualified Builders Wanted

Custom homes require qualified building specialists with their own special set of skills. For many of these professionals, the decline in the economy and a faster pickup in commercial opportunities in recent years have driven them to seek employment in long term commercial building projects. Now that home starts have picked up speed as well, many of these skilled building professionals will still be locked into commercial commitments and may be unable to take on residential projects right away.

Pricing of Materials

In a joint housing market index, NAHB and Wells Fargo report that around three quarters of home building professionals expect material prices to become significantly costlier by the end of the year. Even now, these spikes in material pricing have started to show in the building market.

How PrecisionCraft Can Help

PrecisionCraft offers a proven, beginning-to-end approach to custom log and timber home projects called Total Home Solution®. This approach can help curb the effects of the market’s continuing state on your project. Our solution offers services that allow clients to utilize PrecisionCraft professionals for everything, from log and timber materials to complete design build, as well as interior design services and access to premiere finishes vendors. Total Home Solution® can help you throughout your project’s duration.